Brazilian Olympic Committee President Earns Eagle Award

Because of his successful efforts to bring the Summer Olympic Games and Paralympic Games to South America for the first time, lawyer and President of Brazil’s Olympic Committee, Carlos Arthur Nuzman, has been named the winner of the United States Sports Academy’s Eagle Award.

Nuzman has long been a prominent figure in Brazilian sports lore. Born in 1942 in Rio de Janeiro, Nuzman was a professional volleyball player from 1957 to 1972 and represented the Brazilian national team between 1962 and 1968. He was a member of the first Brazilian male Olympic volleyball team in 1964, when the sport debuted in the Games.

Nuzman was president of the Brazilian Volleyball Confederation from 1975 to 1995 before becoming president of the Brazilian Olympic Committee. He is also a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Pan American Sports Organisation (PASO). In 2007, Brazil also hosted the Pan and Parapan American Games. Under Nuzman, Rio previously submitted bids to host the Olympics in 2004 and 2012.

The Eagle Award is the United States Sports Academy’s highest international honor. It is presented to a world leader in sport to recognize that individual’s contributions in promoting international harmony, peace and goodwill through the effective use of sport. The recipient of this award must have tempered strength with keen judgment in using authority wisely as a means of bringing nations together through sport for the betterment of mankind.